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West Coast Soccer League
The West Coast Soccer League (WCSL) is a semi-professional soccer league composed of 12 teams from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The WCSL plays a 16-match regular season from the first Friday in May until the third or fourth Friday in August with each club playing the other clubs in their division twice, once at home and once on the road and play the clubs from the opposing division once. Out of the league's 12 teams, four (two division winners and two division runner-ups) advance to the WCSL playoffs, a roundrobin tournamnet culminating in the West Coast Cup played between the top two teams following the roundrobin. The WCSL was formed on December 3, 1963 and began its inaugural season on May 1, 1964. The league began with only four teams and didn't have its current 12 team format until 2015 when the Walla Walla United and San Francisco Goldmines FC joined the league. As of February 2018 the league was in-talks with the Evergreen Premier League in Washington state about a possible merger. If this were to happen it would increase the number of WCSL clubs to 20. League history The league was formed in late 1963 when a group of soccer fans from Boise, Idaho wanted to create a soccer league for the Pacific Northwest. The league debuted in 1964 with the founding franchises of Idaho Spuds FC, Randall City FC, Vancouver Victory FC, and Yakima United. In 1965, Randall City FC relocated to Salem, Oregon to become Salem FC. In 1969, the league expanded to five teams with the addition of the Randall City Sea Dogs. In 1982, Idaho Spuds FC relocated to Spokane, Washington to become the Spokane Shadow; the Randall City Sea Dogs folded and were replaced by the Kelowna Royals FC. In 1984, Yakima United folded. The team was replaced by the Seattle Sounders. In 1988, Vancouver Victory FC and Spokane Shadow folded. In 1991, Seattle Sounders folded and were replaced by Fresno United FC. In 1997, the league expanded to six clubs with the addition of the Victoria Islanders FC, Seattle Warriors FC, and Sacramento Republic FC. In 2002, the league expanded to seven clubs with the addition of the Spokane Stars. In 2005, the league expanded to eight clubs with the addition of Los Chupacabras de Tijuana. In 2014, the league expanded to ten clubs with the addition of FC Juneau and Portland Roses FC. In 2015, the league expanded to twelve clubs with the addition of Walla Walla United and San Francisco Goldmines FC. On March 15, 2018, the city of Yookkene, Alaska was announced as the hosts of the league's thirteenth club. On April 7, 2018, the city of Chinook, Washington was granted the league's fourteenth club. On June 25, 2018, the city of Springfield, Oregon was granted the league's fifteenth club. On July 14, 2018, the city of Medford, Oregon was granted the league's sixteenth club. Current clubs Future clubs Former clubs *Randall City FC – 1964 (relocated; became Salem FC) *Idaho Spuds FC – 1964–1982 (relocated; became Spokane Shadow) *Yakima United – 1964–1984 (folded) *Vancouver Victory FC – 1964–1988 (folded) *Randall City Sea Dogs – 1969-1982 (folded) *Spokane Shadow – 1982–1988 (folded) *Seattle Sounders – 1984–1993 (folded)